"Your legacy doesn't happen at the end of your career," Fox said. "It begins at the beginning of your career."

Fox, 63, retired from the Newport News Police Department on Sept. 1 after a 40-year career in law enforcement, including nine years as Newport News' police chief. As he has thought a lot about his own legacy, he said, he realized that a good one is built up over time.

"You don't wait until the end of your career to think about legacy, but you think about legacy every moment, every day," Fox told the five graduates in a ceremony at police headquarters. "You're always on stage. Your microphone is always on. Every time you do something, you're building your legacy."

In their new job as 911 call operators, Fox told the graduates that they "have a lot of influence" over people. "They touch people on every call," he said. "People call them when they're having a problem and their legacy will be how much they were able to help them ...overcome crisis."

He touted a book he's read, 'Your Leadership Legacy,' by Robert Galford and Regina Maruca, who assert that "thinking about your legacy now makes you a better leader today."

Fox told the graduates that decisions will come before them that will afford them a chance to build their character and shape their lives and careers.

"At the end of your career or even at the beginning of your carer, when you leave something, what do people think about what you've done?" Fox asked. "Everything you do is part of your legacy ... If you get labeled in a bad way, that's part of your legacy, and you have to work out of that negative label."

"Legacy," Fox added, "is not a word that you look at when you retire — it's a word that you look at when you're just coming in."